The Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD) organized the International Contracting and Finance Summit. In addition to Deputy Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye Özgür Volkan Ağar, MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı, Chairman of the MÜSİAD Construction and Building Materials Sector Board Cemil Yüksekdağ, Chairman of the MÜSİAD International Economic Relations Commission Fahrettin Oylum, leading figures of the sector, ambassadors and diplomatic missions took part in the summit.
The MÜSİAD International Contracting and Finance Summit took place at the MÜSİAD Head Office with the participation of Deputy Minister of Trade Özgür Volkan Ağar. The summit, at which the future of the international contracting sector, the future of finance, new market formations in the sector and cooperation opportunities were assessed, was completed with two sessions and keynote speeches.
The summit, which began with the opening speeches of Deputy Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye Özgür Volkan Ağar, MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı, Chairman of the MÜSİAD Construction and Building Materials Sector Board Cemil Yüksekdağ and Chairman of the MÜSİAD International Relations Commission Fahrettin Oylum, continued with the keynote speeches of Turkish Contractors Association President Erdal Eren and Limak Holding Honorary Chairman Nihat Özdemir. At the summit, where the main sessions titled The Needs of Contractors and Forward-Looking Strategies and The Assessment of Global Investment and Project Financing and Diplomatic Views were also held, D-8 Secretary General Ambassador Isiaka Imam, Ambassador of Congo Djuma Kauzeni Rashidi and Ambassador of Guinea Oumar Kande took part, as did diplomatic missions as participants.
“The Turkish contracting sector has become a global brand”
Speaking at the opening of the MÜSİAD International Contracting and Finance Summit, Deputy Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye Özgür Volkan Ağar spoke of the importance of the international contracting sector for Türkiye and said that the summit would shed light on the future of the sector. Emphasizing that as the Ministry of Trade they work very closely with the international contracting sector and that the sector is an important actor in the rise in foreign trade, Ağar expressed that the overseas contracting sector has positive effects such as its direct contribution to service revenues and its provision of foreign currency inflow to the country through worker income.
Ağar continued his remarks as follows:
"In its 50-year overseas adventure, the Turkish contracting sector has become a global brand, has won the trust of the whole world with the projects it has delivered and has achieved countless successes. It has achieved many of these successes by working under very difficult conditions, by the strength of its arm and the sweat of its brow. Currently Türkiye ranks second after China, with 40 companies, in the ranking of the top 250 contracting companies doing the most business globally. From the global market we take a share of around 4.5 percent."
Özgür Volkan Ağar, underlining that the Turkish contracting sector has maintained its successful performance despite the political and economic fluctuations in the world, made the following assessment: "Our overseas contracting sector raised the total project value of USD 20 billion obtained in 2022 to approximately USD 28 billion in 2023. The total number of projects undertaken from the past to the present has exceeded 12,000, and the total value of the projects undertaken has reached USD 507 billion."
Drawing attention to the fact that Türkiye ranks at the very top in the production and export of construction materials, Ağar said that the success of the contracting sector abroad has also given significant momentum to Turkish construction materials.
“Our target is to bring four main players together”
Delivering the opening speeches at the summit, MÜSİAD President Mahmut Asmalı expressed that Türkiye has for many years been the most important actor in the contracting sector and that Turkish companies have increased their market and investment shares abroad. Drawing attention to Türkiye's success in this field, Asmalı continued his remarks as follows:
As you know, our country has achieved a great breakthrough in the construction sector in recent years. While the overseas contracting sector closed 2023 with a huge project value of USD 27.4 billion, the total value of the projects undertaken by our country's construction sector in 135 countries since 1972 has reached a colossal size of approximately USD 502 billion. This half-trillion-dollar value, produced with a total of 12,071 projects over a period exceeding 50 years from those days to the present, also points to Türkiye's world-leading position in this field. That USD 452 billion, a very large portion of this total of approximately USD 502 billion, was produced in the last 21 years reveals the breakthrough the overseas contracting sector has made in recent years. When we look at our country's distribution in the overseas construction sector, we see that the largest share, at a size of %38, is in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Second place is formed by the European geography with a rate of %27.1. The Middle East, with approximately %20, ranks third this year. The subsequent rates that follow the top three also reveal extremely meaningful figures for our country's construction sector.”
Speaking at the International Contracting and Finance Summit, President Asmalı expressed that the true purpose of the summit is to bring four main players together. In his speech President Asmalı said:
“With the International Contracting and Finance Summit, our main target is to bring together the four main players necessary in order to achieve success in the field of international contracting. The careful coming together of these four main players plays a key role in the realization of successful projects. These four main players are as follows: “First, the companies or company consortiums that can implement international projects; second, the diplomatic mission representatives in Türkiye, that is, the embassies or consulates, that will provide Turkish companies with projects that have international standing and for which state guarantees can in particular be given, or that will invite Turkish companies to these projects; third, the international investment banks and funds that will provide support in the financing of these projects; and fourth, it may be difficult technically or in terms of capacity for a single company to carry out on its own the projects we have mentioned above, that is, projects of a certain size. Therefore, consortiums are formed for such situations. The formation processes of these consortiums must be conducted with correct contracts that have international standing, and cooperation must be established with the legal consultancy and project consultancy firms that will manage these processes.
On the occasion of this summit, by bringing these four main elements together, we plan to take important steps on the path to being successful in the field of international contracting.” he said.
“Our target in 2030 is USD 70 billion”
Chairman of the MÜSİAD Construction and Building Materials Sector Board Cemil Yüksekdağ, for his part, said in his speech, “We believe that when we bring the stakeholders together with the right design in international contracting and consultancy projects, we can carry our current business volume much higher through the leverage effect.”
In his speech, Yüksekdağ drew attention to Türkiye's rise in the field of contracting and expressed that they can carry this strength even further forward in the international market. Yüksekdağ continued his speech as follows:
“The project volume undertaken by the world's 250 largest contractors, published last year by ENR Magazine, which is accepted as a reference in international contracting, and which included 40 of our Turkish contracting companies, came in at approximately USD 430 billion. The project value undertaken by our Turkish companies that entered the ranking was USD 27.4 billion. The project volume that these 250 companies will undertake in 2030 is expected to exceed USD 700 billion. I think these figures express the size of the international contracting market well enough. Every country has opportunities and risks of its own. I invite our contractors doing business in the domestic market to step out of their comfort zone and benefit from these opportunities. For our Turkish Contractors, who hold a 5 percent share of the international contracting market, raising this share to USD 70 billion with the visions we will be speaking of shortly is a very close target. We too will work with all our strength in order to serve this. The target in 2030 is USD 70 billion.
With our experience, our perception of quality and our courage in the international arena, it is possible for us to increase our market share very rapidly with the right strategies in the field of contracting in which we are strong. At this point, a very valuable service export is in question. Moreover, this service export also directly affects our exports of building materials products. Türkiye is a country that exports approximately USD 30 billion worth of building materials per year. The more projects we undertake abroad, the faster both our service and our product exports will increase. This will also directly support our country's export-oriented growth policies.”
"We will benefit from advanced technologies and strategic partnerships"
Chairman of the MÜSİAD International Economic Relations Commission Fahrettin Oylum, for his part, touched in his speech on the subjects of digital innovation, global footprint and cooperation, and pointed out that the Building Information Modelling technique increases Türkiye's competitiveness by positioning it at the forefront of digital innovation.
At the same time, Oylum expressed in his speech that Turkish contractors have consolidated their positions as key players in the world construction sector by bringing to life projects worth billions of dollars.
Oylum included the following expressions in the continuation of his speech:
“In the coming periods, the convergence of advanced robotics, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions promises to drive the construction sector in Türkiye into an even more radical change. By seamlessly integrating these groundbreaking technologies, we can improve operational efficiency, safety standards and resource management capabilities. This will facilitate project delivery, optimize construction processes and, by increasing overall productivity, encourage a culture of innovation and excellence in the sector. Over the last twenty years, Turkish contractors have tightened their control in three main markets: Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East and Africa. Their expertise and project implementation capabilities have been recognized worldwide. So much so that Turkish contractors have consolidated their positions as key players in the world construction sector by bringing to life projects worth billions of dollars. While Russia ranks first among the countries where Turkish contractors have realized the most projects, with a project implementation value of USD 11.2 billion, Iraq, with a project implementation value of USD 3.6 billion, became the second country where Turkish contracting companies realized the most projects according to 2021 data. In addition, Turkish construction companies have recorded significant progress in the African market, particularly in the construction, energy and infrastructure sectors. Holding approximately %62 of the construction market volume in Africa, Turkish contractors have emerged as formidable rivals to Chinese firms on the continent.”
Fahrettin Oylum expressed that the summit brought four main players together and that they organized the summit in order to emphasize the importance of cooperation among them.
Leading figures of the sector came together
At the MÜSİAD International Contracting and Finance Summit, the important players of the contracting and finance sector came together. Turkish Contractors Association President Erdal Eren, Limak Holding Honorary Chairman Nihat Özdemir, Islamic Development Bank Türkiye Director Dr. Walid Abdelwahab, ICBC Deputy General Manager D. Halit Döver, PPP Research Centre President Eyüp Vural Aydın, Eximbank Project Finance Director Hatice Ürkmez, Yapı Merkezi Construction and Industry Board Member Emre Akyar, Sarıkoç Holding Board Member Ömer Sarıkoç, Aşoğlu Group Inc. Board Member Selman Aşoğlu, D-8 Secretary General Isiaka Imam, Ambassador of Djibouti Aden Houssein Abdillahi, Ambassador of Guinea Oumar Kande, Chairwoman of the Board of Dorçe Prefabricated Building Süheyla Çebi Karahan and Chairman of the Board of Optimal Project Management / MÜSİAD Vice President Burhan Özdemir attended the summit as speakers and gave information about their own sectors and fields.
Ten different countries took part in the summit, where investment and cooperation opportunities in the international arena were also assessed thanks to diplomatic missions.
A first in Türkiye: Artificial Intelligence Presenter Cere
In addition to its sectoral outputs, the MÜSİAD International Contracting and Finance Summit also brought to life an application tried for the first time in Türkiye and proved successful. The summit, at which the presenting throughout the whole programme was done by Cere, a presenter produced with artificial intelligence, won the admiration of those who saw it. The Cere artificial intelligence model, created by Cerebrum Tech, has a deep learning-based language model. Used as a presenter at a summit for the first time in Türkiye, Cere AI carried out the presenting of the programme in line with the information given to it.
